Unit 4- The Nazi Dictatorship 1933-39 Flashcards
1
Q
Which party was banned after the Reichstag Fire in 1933 ?
A
- The KPD
- They were arrested and imprisoned
- Some fled in exile
2
Q
What did the Enabling Act state ?
A
- Gave Hitler the power of a dictator
- Hindenburg still had the final say on constitutional matters and the loyalty of the army
3
Q
Why was the SPD outlawed in 1933 ?
A
- Outlawed
- As a ‘party hostile to the nation and the state’
- They had voiced their opposition against the Nazis
4
Q
Which two parties dissolved themselves in 1933 ?
A
- DNVP
- The Centre Party
5
Q
What was the Law Against the Formation of New Parties 1933 ?
A
-Outlawed all non-Nazi political parties
6
Q
What was the position of Prussia in Government ?
A
- Largest German state
- 50% of the population of the entire country
- State governments could operate largely independently of the central government
7
Q
What changes were made to Prussia in 1933?
A
- Prussian State government dismissed
- Reich Commissioner appointed to run the state (Goering)
- This paved a way for the centralization of power
8
Q
What was First law for the coordination of the federal state 1933 ?
A
- Dissolved the existing state assemblies
- Replaced with Nazi dominated assemblies
9
Q
What was the Second law for the coordination of the federal state 1933?
A
- New post of Reich governor to oversee government of each state
- Responsible for ensuring state governments followed the polices laid down by central government
10
Q
What steps were taken to gain the centralisation of government 1934 ?
A
- State assemblies abolished
- Posts of Reich governor made redundant but Hitler didn’t abolish the posts
- Reichsrat was abolished
- Nazi leaders known as Gauleitars wanted to control local governments
11
Q
How did the Nazis control the Civil Service in 1934 ?
A
- Local officials were forced to resign and were replaced by Nazis
- Nazi SA began to place party officials in government to ensure that the civil service were carrying out orders
- Nazis firmly in control
12
Q
What was Gleichschaltung ?
A
- Means everyone is in line
- In which Hitler established a system of totalitarian control and coordination over all aspects of German society
13
Q
What did the number of SA members increase to in 1934 ?
A
1934- 3 million members
14
Q
How many people were executed in NOTLN ?
A
400 people were executed
15
Q
Which political figures were executed in NOTLN ?
A
- Schleicher
- Gustav von Kahr
- Greggor Strasser
- Rohm and other leaders of the SA
16
Q
How did Hitler secure the support of the army and the people after NOTLN ?
A
- Hitler addressed Reichstag and accepted full responsibility
- Said he was acting to “save the country from a SA coup”
- Decisive decisions
- Removed the threat of a revolution
17
Q
What did SA membership decline to after NOTLN ?
A
- 1.6 million
- SA’s political power was destroyed
18
Q
What were Hindenburg’s wishes in his will ?
A
-Expressed preference for a restoration of the monarchy
19
Q
What did Hitler aim to do after Hindenburg died ?
A
-Aimed to merge the office of the president and the chancellor
20
Q
What did Hindenburg plan to do, due to his suspicions about the SA ?
A
- Planned to hand power to the army
- Dismiss Hitler
- His views were shared by army commanders such as Papen
21
Q
What did Hitler do to control the SA ?
A
- Knew he couldn’t get army’s support once Hindenburg died unless he controlled the SA
- Hitler launched a purge of the SA
22
Q
What did Hitler announce an hour after Hindenburg’s death ?
A
-Announced that the office of the president would be merged with the office of the chancellor
23
Q
Who swore an oath of allegiance to Hitler ?
A
-Officers and soldiers of the army
24
Q
What did the Plebiscite decide ?
A
-Decided if Hitler would be appointed as Fuhrer
25
How many people voted for against Hitler's appointment as Fuhrer ?
- 89.9% voted for change
| - 10.1% voted against the change (no)
26
What factors motivated Hitler towards NOTLN ?
- Rohm wanted a second revolution
- Rohm wanted the SA to replace the army
- SA disrupt the army and steal weapons
- Army loyal to Hindenburg not Hitler
- SA attack the police
- SA no longer needed
27
What police forces were created ?
- SA
- SS, controlled by Himmler
- The Gestapo
- SD, controlled by Hydrich
28
What was the SS ?
- Main Nazi Party organisation
- Controlled by Himler
- Controlled entire Third Reich Police System and concentration camps
- Strictly disciplined, racially pure and obedient
- Key Values: loyalty and honour, in adherence to the Nazi ideology
- Violence and murder were used
29
What were Concentration Camps ?
- Prisons were inmates were forced to work
- 70 Camps
- First camp was Dacheu
- Came under SS control after 1934
30
What was the SD ?
- Internal security service of the Nazi party
- Set up to investigate claims of political enemies
- Led by Reinhard Heydrich
- Would monitor public opinion, identify those who voted 'no' in the plebiscite and report to Hitler
- 50,000 officers as of 1939
- Staffed with amateurs who were committed to Nazis
31
What was the Gestapo ?
- Secret State Police
- Extended to cover the whole country
- 20,000 officers in 1939
- Installed fear and suspicion into German population
32
How did the Gestapo get their information ?
- Depended on information supplied by informers
- Nazi party activists asked to spy on neighbours and workmates
- Block Leader, of every block or street, would monitor and report on any suspicious activity
- Most informers were motivated by personal grudges not political motives
33
What were the problems with the Judges and Lawyers ?
- Were conservative but not Nazis
- Nazis couldn't interfere as the violence of the SA and SS were clearly illegal
- Many prosecutions of stormtroopers were begun by lawyers
34
What was the League of National Socialist Lawyers ?
- Merging of professional associations of Judges and Lawyers
- Created the Front of German Law in 1933
- Made clear to judges and lawyers that their career prospects depended on supporting the regime
35
What were the Special and Peoples Courts 1933/34 ?
- Dealt with political crimes
- 3 Nazi Judges and 2 professional Judges
- No juries
- Defendants had no rights of appeal against their sentences
36
How many people were tried by the People's Court ?
- 3400
- Between 1934-39
- Most of them were former communists and socialists
37
Why was there conformity towards the Nazi regime ?
- Use of propaganda and Gleichcahltung- able to gain acceptance
- SS presented to protect people
- 'people's court', 'popular justice' portrayed repression reflecting the people
- Gestapo successful due to cooperation of people
38
Why didn't the left pose a threat to the Nazi's ?
- Bitterly divided
- KPD VS SPD
- SPD branded as 'social fascists'
39
How did the Nazi's deal with resistance from the SPD?
- SPD activists murdered or placed into 'preventive custody'
| - SA defeated opposition
40
How did the SPD gather in secret ?
- Established small, secret cells of supporters in factories
- Some city based groups such as the Berlin Red Patrol
- Propaganda smuggled across the border from Czechoslovakia
41
Why were the SPD limited in resisting against the Nazis?
- Constant fear of exposure
- Arrest by the Gestapo
- Priority was to survive and to be prepared for the collapse of the regime
42
What % of the KPD's membership was killed by the Nazi's during 1933 ?
10% of the KPD's membership was killed by the Nazi's during 1933
43
How did the KPD gather in secret ?
- Established underground network in some German industrial centres
- Revolutionary unions set up in Berlin and Hamburg to recruit members and publish newspapers
- Broken up by gestapo
- Secret factory cells established
44
What resistance was shown from workers ?
- 37 Strikes in Rhineland
- 1937 a total of 250 strikes
- Absenteeism (not turn up)
- Would damage machinery
45
How did Nazis deal with resistance from workers ?
- 4000 strikers spent time in prison in 1935
- 1938 new labour regulations introduced to combat absenteeism, would give penalties
- Gestapo arrested 114 workers for absenteeism at a mutations plant in 1938
46
What were issues that caused the workers to resist ?
- Poor working conditions
- Low wages
- Discontent over food prices
- Pressure to work longer hours
47
Why were the churches in a powerful position ?
- Retained organisational autonomy
- Only organisation that had an alternative ideology to the Nazis
- Influence of priest more important in some communities rather than the Nazi's
48
What resistance was shown from the Protestant Church ?
- Establishment of the Pastors Emergency League in 1933
- Confessional Church 1934
- Led by pastors who weren't Nazis and were from academic backgrounds
- Pastors spoke out about Nazifed Church
- Many churches refused to display swastikas
49
Why did Protestant churches refuse to conform ?
- Trying to protect independence of the church
- Wouldn't impose the Aryan paragraph. This would dismiss any pastor who'd converted from Judaism from the church
- Trying to defend orthodox Lutheran theology, based on the bible
50
How did the Nazi regime respond to resistance by Protestant Churches ?
- Increased repression
- Pastors had salaries stopped
- Banned from teaching in schools
- Many pastors were arrested
- At the end of 1937, over 700 pastors had been imprisoned
51
What was the Concordat of 1933?
- The Catholic Church and the Nazi regime agreed to leave each other alone
- Came under attack
52
How did the Catholic Church place itself in open conflict with the Nazi regime ?
- Pope issued 'With Burning Grief', which condemned Nazi's hatred upon the church
- Smuggled into Germany
- Distributed and read out in every church in 1937
53
What was the Nazi's response to Catholic Church resistance ?
- Increased repression
- Arrests of priests
- Intimidation and harassment of priests
- Some opposition to the arresting of a priest at his trial, where there were noisy demonstrations
54
Why was there growing resistance by young people to the regime ?
- Membership to Hitler's Youth was made compulsory in 1939
- Youth movements took up a lot of a teenagers free time
- Compulsory gymnastic sessions on Wednesday evenings
- All day Sunday hikes
55
What did the Youth do to resist ?
- Opted out- allowed membership to lapse or didn't attend weekly parades
- Hummed banned tunes at parades
- Formed cliques, groups
- Criminal gangs and political gangs- Meuten gangs
56
Why was the number of opposition in the civil service and army small ?
- Both had a strong tradition of serving the state
| - Whoever was in charge
57
What resistance was there from the elites ?
- 1938
- Unease about Nazi Foreign Policy
- Felt Hitler was leading them into an unprepared war
- He wanted a union with Austria and an invasion of Czechoslovakia within a year
58
What did Hitler do to the Nazi's that opposed his foreign policy ?
- Blomberg and Fritsch expressed their doubts
- Hitler removed them from army leadership
- Replaced them with more compliant generals
59
What caused the army to plot to remove Hitler ?
- 1938. Hitler ordered army to prepare for plans for an invasion of Czechoslovakia
- Threat of War prompted them to plot to remove Hitler in a military coup
60
How did the army plot against Hitler fail ?
- Knew France and Britain would support Czech if they were invaded (cause war)
- Detailed plans made for a march on Berlin if war was declared
- All depended on France and Britain standing by Czech to make the threat of war credible
- France and Britain allow Hitler to takeover of the Sudetenland area of Czech
61
What was the role of Goebbles in Nazi propaganda?
- Nazi propaganda chief
- Controlled, directed and censored the media to ensure Nazi ideals were spread effectively
- Oversaw the work of press, radio, film and literature
62
How was the Newspapers and Press used as a form of Propaganda?
- Clause 14 obligated editors to exclude anything that weakened the Nazis from the papers
- Socialist and communist newspapers closed under protection of the people
- Nazis by the end of 1933 bought 27 daily newspapers
- Reich Association of the German Press kept a register of acceptable editors and journalists
63
How was Radio used as a form of Propaganda?
- Communal loudspeakers
- 1933- Hitler made 50 broadcasts, allowed him to directly communicate with the German people
- Key speeches by Hitler announced by sirens and work was stopped so all could listen to public loudspeakers
- Goebbles promoted the mass production and sale of cheap radio sets
- April 1934, all radio stations in Germany were brought under the control of the Reich Radio Company
64
How many of German households had a radio set by 1939 ?
-70% of German households had a radio set by 1939
65
How was Film used as a form of propaganda ?
- Knew film would work on the subconscious, delivering subliminal messages
- Goebbles was personally responsible for approving every film made in Germany after 1933
- 1933-35, over 1000 films were produced in Germany and cinema attendance increased 1933-44
- Leadership was glorified, blood and soil was a common theme
- Aswell as the demonising of Jews and Communists
66
How were Parades used as a form of propaganda?
- Marches: wearing uniforms, carrying banners, singing of party songs all captured peoples attention and showed discipline
- Households expected to show support by hanging Swastika flags
- Compliance ensured by block leaders
67
What other forms of propaganda were used by the Nazis?
- Promoted arts that glorified the healthy strong, hero's from Germany's past
- Belief only aryans could promote true art
- 1933- bonfire of 20,000 books. Books burnt were deemed ungerman (jewish/communist authors)
68
What was the Hitler Myth ?
- Nazi propaganda presented Hitler as 'a man of the people'
- Symbolised the unity of the Nazi Party
- Presented as a man who:
- Was hardworking and tough- mastered the problems Germany faced due to the depression
- Lived a simple life and sacrificed personal happiness to devote himself to the people
- Shown as being alone and separate from his party (personality politics)
69
What was the reality of the Hitler Myth ?
- Hitler was surround by officials who competed with each other to gain his attention and implement his wishes
- Hitler supplied the vision and his officials interpreted this and turned it into detailed polices
- Actually not involved in decision making
- Not hardworking would stay up late eating and watching films
- Disliked reading official documents and rarely got involved in detailed discussions on policy
- Difficult in making decisions
70
What were Hitler's Economic Policy Aims ?
- Economic recovery from depression
- Reduction of unemployment
- Create an economy stable of sustaining rearmament and a future war
- Self-sufficent in production of food and raw materials= economic autarky
71
What was Economic Autarky ?
- -Self- sufficent in production of food and raw materials
| - Reduced the dependance on imports and the need for large reserves of foreign currency
72
Who was the key figure in Nazi Economics 1933-36 ?
-Hjalmar Schacht
73
What were Autobahns ?
- Construction projects of motorways
- Modern bridges
- Visible sign of economic revival
- Only employed a few ppl- 125,000 at its peak
- Construction slowed in 1938 and stopped in 1942
- People didn't have cars
74
What was the Nazi's battle for work project ?
- Reduce unemployment
- Authobahns
- Money spent on building roads and public buildings
- Increased industrial production stimulated through loans and tax relief to private companies
- 1935-Reich Labor Service - unemployed young men compelled to do 6 months labor in farming or construction
- Military conscription introduced for young men
75
Was the Nazi's battle for work project successful ?
- Helped to reduce unemployment faster
| - Was successful
76
What was the New Plan of 1934 ?
- Placed controls on imports and on access to foreign currency
- Trade agreements with foreign countries, where Germany paid for goods with Reichmarks
- Foreign countries could only use this money to buy German goods
77
What was the growing issue with imports and exports in 1934 ?
- Imports growing faster than exports
| - Shortages of foreign currencies which were needed to purchase imported goods
78
What were Mefo Bills ?
- Government payed for its Military using Credit Notes or Mefo Bills
- These bills could be exchanged at the Reichbank for cash
- Ensured confidence that private companies would get their money
- Would get 4% annual interest if they kept the bill for a full 5 year term if they didn't ask for the payment
79
What were the advantages of Mefo Bills ?
- Rearmament programme could be started in 1935 without the government having the funds to finance it
- Could be kept secret as the expenditure didn't appear in the governments accounts
80
What economic issues began to occur between 1935-36 ?
- Balance of payment problems
- Shortages of foreign exchange
- food shortages, rising prices, lower living standards
- -Questions raised about regimes priorities
- Aiming for rearmament whilst there is shortages 'guns or butter'
81
What was Economic Autarky ?
- Self- sufficent in production of food and raw materials
| - Reduced the dependance on imports and the need for large reserves of foreign currency
82
What was the Aim of the Four Year Plan ?
- Make Germany ready for war within 4 years
- Achieve economic autarky
- Rearmament
83
What was in the Four Year Plan ?
- Controls on labour supply, prices, raw materials and foreign exchange
- Setting production targets for private companies
- Establishing new state owned industrial plants (Hermann Goering Steelworks)
- Increased production of iron, steel, chemicals
- Encouraging research and investment in the production of substitute products such as artificial rubber to reduce dependance on exports
84
How did Nazis promote Economic Autarky to Germans ?
- Propaganda campaigns to persuade people to only buy German goods, only eat German food and only use German raw materials
- Propaganda presented this as the patriotic duty of all German citizens
- 1937- campaign to collect scrap metal from people's homes and public spaces to make up for shortages in raw materials
- Hitlers Youth collected pots and pans (desperation)
85
What were the results of the Four Year Plan ?
- Did not match propaganda claims of independence and national pride
- German industry didn't meet targets
- 1939- German still imported 1/3 of its raw materials
- German economy didn't have resources to achieve all of the regimes aims
- 1939- German economy under severe strain
86
Which business leaders welcomed the Nazis in 1933 and why ?
- Fritz Thyssen and Alfred Hugenberg
- Helped Hitler into power
- Suppression of free trade unions
- Establishment of political stability
- Revival of economy
- Created an environment favourable to business
- Many cooperated with the Nazis
87
How did some businesses benefit from the 4 Year Plan ?
- Large Chemicals company I.G. Farben
- One of the directors held a key post in the administration of the Four Year Plan
- 1935-39, profits of IG Farben increased from 71 million-240 million Reichmarks
88
Which businesses were skeptical about the Four Year Plan ?
- Ruhr iron and steel firms were reluctant to invest in new steelworks to produce steel from poor quality and expensive German iron ore
- Rather than use cheaper and imported superior one
89
What was the Hermann Goering Steelworks ?
- Enormous enterprise established and owned by the state
- Partly financed by private companies who were forced to invest in it
- Given priority for materials over private companies
- 1939-largest industrial enterprise in Europe
- Expanded into coal mining and manufacture of heavy machinery
- Expanded into Austria, Poland and France after 1938
90
How did Nazi propaganda exaggerate economic recovery by 1939 ?
- Projected an image of success of Nazi Economic policies
- Speeches and radio by Hitler claimed the 'battle for work' had been won
- Products 'the people's car' gave impressions that living standards increased
- Covered up failures
91
What did Official unemployment figures by 1934 show ?
- Show a dramatic reduction in unemployment in the number of unemployed by 1934, continuing to fall after that
- Basis of the 'battle for work' being won
92
What were flaws to the claim that the 'Battle for Work' had been won ?
- Economic recovery had actually begun before the Nazis took power in 1933. Job Creation schemes were actually based off policies introduced by Brunning in the 1930's
- Reduction in unemployment figures achieved by persuading married women to give up their employment through marriage loans, giving jobs to unemployed males
- Conscription in 1935 for young males 18-25, took a large proportion of young males out of the labour market
- Occasional employment counted as permanently employed
93
What were working standards like during 1933-39 ?
- Income for many workers did increase
- Some employers were prepared to pay bonuses and other benefits to get round the freeze on wages and attract more skilled workers
- Pay increased due to longer working hours
- Workers in key industries such as armaments were better off than before
94
What did Nazi propaganda emphasise about working conditions ?
- Stressed benefits that the nazi regime had bestowed on workers
- Improved working conditions
- Better social and welfare provision
- Access to goods and services
95
What was the situation with food shortages in 1939 ?
- Prices rose in the 1930's
- People able to buy enough food to feed family but couldn't afford luxuries
- Consumption of higher value foods like meat, egg and fruit declined
- Consumption of cheaper foods such as potatoes and rye bread increased
- Even shortages of eggs, meat and wheat and rye
96
What was the 'People's Car' ?
- The Volkswagen
- Promoted by Strength Through Joy with a huge campaign advertising 'a car for everyone'
- Successfully persuaded workers to pay into a savings scheme to purchase one
- Great success of Nazi propaganda as cars never went into full production
- Only Nazi elites could actually get one
97
What was Volksgemeinschaft ?
- A people's community
- Unified by blood, race and ideology, all with a common bond of loyalty to the Hitler
- New German man and woman
- Everyone that fits into the Nazi regime
98
What was the Law for the Re-establishment of the Professional Civil Service 1933 ?
- Law allowed people to be dismissed on political grounds
| - Teachers
99
How did Nazi's gain control over teachers ?
- Law for the Re-establishment of the Professional Civil Service dismissed Jewish teachers or on political grounds
- Pressured into joining the National Socialist Teachers League
- Vetting of textbooks, told what could and couldn't be taught
100
How did Nazi's gain control over the curriculum ?
- Emphasis on physical education. Military style drills in PE lessons
- German lessons instilled a 'conscious of being German'
- Biology- stress on race and hereditary, evolution and survival of the fittest
- Geography used to develop awareness pot Lebensraum (living space) and racial superiority
101
How did Nazis restrict access to Universities ?
- Downgraded importance of academic education
- Access to HE strictly rationed, selection made on basis of political reliability
- Women restricted to 10% of places
- Jews restricted to 1.5% of places
102
How did Nazi's control Universities ?
- Law for the Re-establishment of the Professional Civil Service- 1200 university staff dismissed on racial or political grounds - 15%
- Made to sign 'Declaration in support of Hitler and the National Socialist State'
- Students had to join the German Students League, 25% managed to avoid it
- Students forced to do 4 months labour service and 2 months in an SA camp - gave them experience of real life, which nazis thought was better than academic learning
103
Why was the Nazi's policies of controlling Universities a success ?
- Universities were dominated by right wing nationalists
| - Supported Nazis
104
How did the Nazi's control Hitler's Youth ?
- 1936-Law for the Incorporation of German Youth- gave them the status of an official education movement, equal status to schools
- Catholic Youth organisations banned. Hitler Youth became the only permitted youth organisation
- Membership made compulsory in 1939
- Constant political indoctrination and physical activity
- Members had to swear a personal oath of allegiance to the Fuhrer
- Taught to sing Nazi songs
105
Was the methods of control used for Hitler's Youth a success ?
- The opportunity to take part in sports attracted many young boys
- Many joined against the wishes of their non-nazi parents
- Attendance at parades began to slip when membership was made compulsory in 1939
106
How did Nazi's control the League of German Girls (BDM) ?
- Membership compulsory in 1939
- Taught they had a duty to be healthy, their bodies bulged to the nation, future child bearers
- Formation dancing and group gymnastics
- Taught sewing and cooking
- Sessions for political education and racial awareness
- Annual summer camps, highly structured- sports, physical exercise, route marches, aswell as indoctrination- flag waving and saluting
- All young women up to the age of 25 had to do a years of unpaid work with the Reich Labour Service before they could get paid employment
107
Why did many girls enjoy BDM ?
- Found it liberating
- Doing things their mothers had not been allowed to do
- BDM groups were classless, part of the Volkschemscaft
108
Why did some girls oppose BDM?
- After 1934, girls were expected to do a years work on the land or in domestic service
- Aim was to put girls in touch with their peasant roles
- This was unpopular with girls from the cities and many tried to avoid it
109
What were the Nazi's priorities when controlling Women ?
- Raise the birth rate
| - Restrict the employment of married women outside the family home
110
How did the Nazi's control Women ?
- Marriage Loans- Introduced for women that left work and married aryan men. For each child born the amount of the loan that had to be repaid was reduced by a quarter
- Nazis awarded medals to women for 'donating a baby to the Fuhrer. 4/5 children= bronze, 6/7= silver, 8= gold
- Birth control discouraged, Abortion restricted
- Encouraged to adopt a healthy lifestyle, exercise and no smoking or drinking
111
How did Women's Organisations promote their values to women ?
- German's Women League- Gave advice to women on cooking and healthy eating. By 1939 had over 6 million members
- National Socialist Women's Organisation- Promoted Nazi ideology that women should be homemakers and childbearers
- Reich Mothers Service- Motherhood training service to convince them of the duties of motherhood. 1939- 1.7 million women attended
112
Were the Nazi's policies towards women a success ?
- No
- Number of women in the workforce increased between 1933-39
- Had to encourage women to take up employment after 1936, as there were growing labour shortages with the growing rearmament scheme
113
What was the DAF ?
- German Labour Front
- Led by Robert Ley
- To coordinate workers into the Nazi regime
- Became the largest organisation in the Third Reich
- Only officially recognised organisation representing workers
- Symbol of Volksgemeinschaft
- Replaced trade unions
114
What were the Aims of the DAF ?
- Win workers over to the Volksgemeinschaft
| - Encourage workers to increase production
115
What policies did the DAF introduce ?
- Established the organisation 'Strength through Joy' to organise workers leisure time
- 1936- provide vocational training to improve workers skills
- Built a large business empire- banks, housing associations, owned their own travel company
116
How many paid employees did the DAF have by 1939 ?
-The DAF had 44,500 paid employees by 1939
117
What were the negatives of the DAF ?
- Workers had to work harder and accept a squeeze on wages and living standards
- Nazis promoted that they were working for the community through propaganda- had their own propaganda department
118
What was Strength through Joy (Kdf) ?
- Led by Robert Ley and DAF
- To organise workers leisure time
- Idea was that workers would gain strength for their work by experiencing joy in their leisure
- Would be more efficient when they returned to work
- Used its activities to indoctrinate workers and their families into Nazi ideology
119
What was the Kdf's Aims ?
- People to see themselves as part of a volksgmeinscaft. With leisure time and work, there would be no time for personal lives
- Encourage a spirit of social equality. Activities were classless
- Bring Germans from different regions of the country together
- Encourage participation of sport.
- Encourage competition and ambition- Kdf national trades competition was organised for apprentices to improve skills and standards of work
120
How did the Kdf encourage sports in the workplace ?
-Every youth in employment obliged to do 2 hrs of physical exercise each week in the workplace
121
What were workers offered by the Kdf ?
- Subsided holidays
- Sporting activities and hikes
- Theatre and cinema visits at reduced prices
- Classical music concerts at lunch breaks
122
How many people were members of the Kdf ?
- Over 7000 paid employees of the organisation by 1939
| - Membership of the Kdf came with DAF= by 1936, 35 million members
123
What was the mass tourism through the Kdf ?
- Cruises to Finland, Turkey
- Rail trips to Italy
- Kdf ships built on a classless basis to emphasise Volksgemeinschfat
- Facilities on board included gym, swimming pools, theatres
- Cruises designed to show how Germany was superior and advancing under the Nazi regime
124
What was the reality of mass tourism through the Kdf ?
- Tickets were too expensive for ordinary workers
- 10% on a ship to Norway were working class
- Best cabins on ship allocated to party officials and civil servants
- Gestapo and SS agents travelled on cruises to spy on ppl to avoid opposition
- Gestapo reported mass drunkenness and riotous behaviour, especially from party officials
- Robert Ley spent time getting drunk and womanising
125
Why did coordinating churches into the Volkgemeinscaft pose serious challenges for the Nazi's ?
- Germans divided by faith (Protestant and catholics)
- Religious loyalties deep rooted in some communities
- Hitler had to proceed cautiously
126
What was the main Protestant church in Germany ?
-German Evangelical Church
127
What were the beliefs of the German Evangelical Church ?
- Politically conservative and staunch nationalists
- Strong tradition of respect for and cooperation with the state
- Many Protestants were anti Semitic and anti communist
128
How did Nazis get into a position to 'nazify' the Evangelical Church ?
-1933- Coordinate Evangelical church into a single, centralised Reich Church under Nazi control
129
How was the Reich Church coordinated into the Volkgemeinschaft ?
- Ludwig Muller appointed Reich bishop
- Muller abolished all elected bodies within the church
- Pastors who hadn't declared their allegiance to the regime should be dismissed along with non-aryans
- 18 pastors who had converted to christianity from Judaism were dismissed
130
What was the Pastors Emergency League ?
- Established by Protestant pastors unwilling to support developments in the church enforced by Nazis
- Martain Niemoller and Dietrich Bonhoeffer
- This evolved into the Confessional Church
131
What was the Confessional Church ?
- Support of 5000 pastors
- Established to resist state interference in the church
- Re-establish a theology based purely on the bible
- In opposition to the official Reich Church
- Defiance of the Nazi policy= Gleichshaltung
132
What was the New Ministry for Church affairs ?
- 1935
| - Reich Bishop Muller was marginalised
133
How did the Nazis try to weaken the Confessional Church ?
- Repression
- Exploiting division's within it
- Marginalised Christianity by reducing the influence of Churches over young people by abolishing Church schools and pressure to join Hitler's Youth
134
What was the Church Secession Campaign ?
- Launched Church Secession Campaign
| - To persuade party to renounce their church membership
135
What were the successes of the Church Secession Campaign ?
- By 1939, 5% of the population listed as 'god's believers' or people who retained some faith but had renounced formal membership of the Christian Churches
- Party members not allowed to hold office in the Protestant or Catholic Churches
- Stormtroopers forbidden to wear uniforms at church services
- Priests and pastors forbidden from being in the Nazi party
- Pressure to renounce faith but on those who's employment depended on the regime (teachers, civil servants)
136
Why was it harder for the Nazis to cooperate the Catholic Church into Gleichchaltung ?
- Catholics part of an international church, took their lead in religious matters from the pope
- Less susceptible to Nazi ideology
- Early 1930's, Catholic voters were the least likely to vote for the Nazis
137
What was the Catholic Church's approach to the new Nazi regime ?
- Opted for cooperation and compromise to preserve its autonomy
- When free trade unions were taken over by the German Labour Front 1933, Catholic trade unions voluntarily disbanded
138
What were the terms of the Concordat 1933 ?
- Vatican recognised the Nazi regime, promised the Catholic Church wouldn't interfere in politics
- Regime promised it wouldn't interfere in the Catholic Church
- Church would keep control of its schools, Youth organisations and lay groups
139
How did the Nazi's begin to break terms of the Concordat 1933 ?
- Seized the property of Catholic organisations and forced them to close
- Catholic newspapers ordered to drop the word 'catholic' from their names
- Leading Catholics executed by SS in Night of the Long Knives (Fritz Gerlich, critic of the regime)
140
How did the Nazis increase pressure on the Catholic Church between 1935-36 ?
- Permission to hold public meetings severely restricted
- Catholic newspapers and magazines heavily censored and had nazi editors
- Gobbles launched a propaganda campaign against financial corruption in Catholic lay organisations. Many had funds seized and their offices closed by the SA
- Membership of Hitler's Youth compulsory
141
What was the regime's response to 'With Burning Grief' 1937 ?
- Gestapo and SS agents placed inside Catholic Organisations
- Catholic Youth organisations closed down
- Gobbles propaganda ministry publicised many sex scandals involving Catholic priests- attempt to show church as corrupt. 200 priests arrested and tried on sex charges
- By 1939, all church schools converted to community schools
